Design Thinking in the Classroom

In a recent blog, we wrote about how the maker culture is invading K-12 classrooms, and how design thinking is transforming traditional learning. We looked at how to get your kids making, creating, and designing. In today's post we are going to dig a little deeper into the “design thinking” buzzword and unpack what the integration of design thinking means for 21st century teachers, students, and schools.

Design thinking is a structured, but creative, approach to generating, rethinking, and tangible problem solving. It involves taking real-world problems and using research, analysis, and brainstorming to come up with solutions (Gerstein, 2013). Students then physically build and test their ideas through experimentation and product refinement.

Design thinking is supposed to be a messy, dynamic, and collaborative problem solving approach to real world problems. So, as students walk through each stage of the design process, it is important they remain flexible and return to previous steps if need be. Progression through the design process is not intended to be linear; it is fluid and creative in nature. However, a brief description of what occurs in the classroom during each step of the process is as follows:

1. Discovery
Students will discover a challenge or problem, and work to develop a clear understanding of the problem. They should research the problem and gather as much information as they can.

Example: College student is a very active marathon runner who loves to move around. She finds it very difficult to stay still in her chair but is expected to sit through a 75 minute math class without standing up.

2. Interpretation
Students will work to clearly articulate the problem they want to solve and why it is important to solve it. During this process students may need to go back and redefine the problem several times to further narrow the scope of their project.

Example: The student enjoys movement and needs to be able to move quietly, from a seated position, without distracting others in the classroom.

3. Ideation
Students will begin to brainstorm and come up with solutions for the problem.

Examples:

• The student could tap her feet under her desk (no, because that would distract others)

• The student could roll a wooden dowel under her feet (no, because the floor is hardwood and it would make a loud noise)

• The student could tie bouncy elastics to the bottom of her chair to press her feet on during the lesson.

4. Experimentation
Students will select what they think to be the best solution and begin to build a porotype of their solution. They will then test their ideas.

Example: Find a chair and test out different widths and types of elastics. Determine if there is any noise made or if other students are distracted by the noise made. Make sure that the elastics don’t break and are easily added and removed before and after class.

5. Evolution
Students will begin to evolve their ideas and refine what needs to be reworked. This may call for students to return back to the discovery, interpretation, or ideation steps of the design process.

Design thinking is an exciting concept, but it can be daunting to figure out how to integrate these ideals into your classroom routines. Thankfully, there are several resources out there to support interested educators who wanted inspire their kids to think, create, and experiment. Design Thinking for Educators is a great resource for educators who want to learn more.

Their website houses a plethora of videos that discuss the intricacies and rationale behind design thinking, while modeling real world examples of how the ideas are played out in a classroom. Design Thinking for Educators also has a downloadable toolkit to get you started in your design journey. Alternatively, Stanford’s School of Education has a wiki that outlines some great design thinking projects and challenges that innovative educators could attempt with their students.

Design thinking is a fascinating novel way to think about and engage students in the learning process. It gives the students autonomy over their learning, and teaches them how to find answers to their own problems through experimentation and research. Happy designing!

References;
Gerstein, J. (2013, March 11). "Hacking the classroom: Beyond Design Thinking." Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/hacking-the-classroom-beyond-design-thinking/.

Maker Culture in Schools

Maker culture is an off-shoot of traditional "do it yourself" (DIY) and craft culture. Adweek describes the maker movement as “…the umbrella term for independent inventors, designers and tinkerers. A convergence of computer hackers and traditional artisans…” Unlike the DIY movement, Maker culture is centered on tech; it involves computer programming, robotics, 3D printing, and digital and graphic design. The movement is so developed that it has its own magazine, Make, and hosts Maker Faires all over the world. Now, maker culture is pervading schools and your blogger is very excited about this creative shift in the education space.

Maker learning provides students with a hand-on, highly interactive way to explore the world around them as they engage with STEM concepts. Through a maker environment the learning a student does becomes intensely personal, project-based, and internally motivating. Maker culture is cross-curricular by nature and blurs the dichotomy between arts and sciences as students creatively design and construct novel technological products. Maker activities engage students in design thinking, a concept that is so powerful it is being integrated into curriculum at select schools. These schools are not alone. The Next Generation Science Standards advocates for computer science, engineering, and tinkering to be a part of every American child's education.

Maker projects can be as simple as using recycled materials to create a new toy. The materials used can be as basic as old cardboard to as advanced as 3D printers. Teachers could also have students explore stop motion animation by creating their own film to share. Or have students use MIT’s Scratch, a free computer programming tool, to create stories, games, or animations. Another way to infuse maker culture into a classroom is have students sew with conductive thread. This will allow them to make wearable electronic apparel or digital stuffed animals. Maker culture doesn’t have to be complex, it simply has to inspire students to invent, design, and create new products.

For teachers looking to bring maker culture into their own classrooms, an excellent resource is the book Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. The authors advocate that no matter your classroom budget there is a way to integrate maker principles into your students’ learning. They provide tips and ideas for students and teachers to learn together by interacting with a variety of high and low tech tools and materials. Edutopia also has a storehouse of Maker Education related articles that teachers can use to empower them to carry out maker projects in their classrooms. Maker Ed is another maker culture innovator where teachers can peruse their resource lists or get connected to maker events going on near them. It may feel daunting to take on such a large task in your classroom, but there are a lot of excellent resources out there to help support you in joining the maker movement. 

Happy Making!